Somali pirates freed a Bangladesh-flagged cargo vessel and its 23 crew early Sunday after sackloads of US dollars were air-dropped to them in ransom, the company and relatives said. The bulk carrier MV Abdullah was transporting more than 55,000 tonnes of coal from Maputo to the United Arab Emirates when it was seized by dozens of pirates around 550 nautical miles (1,000 kilometres) off the Somali coast a month ago. The seizure came amid a surge in Somali pirate activity, with international naval forces diverted from the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea to guard against attacks on shipping by Yeme…